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Are you on someone's holiday season 're-gift' list this year?

Nov. 29, 2008

Ottawa - Many Canadians are already searching for the perfect gift for friends and loved ones on their holiday season shopping list but a new survey reveals that for a substantial number of Canadians, the revered tradition of holiday gift-giving may also include the dubious practice of "re-gifting."

That's right, about a third of Canadians polled (32%) admit that they have re-gifted a present they've received in the past by passing it on to someone else because they did not need, want or like the gift.

Interestingly, while most Canadians surveyed said they themselves do not practice re-gifting, the majority (65%) also said they do not have a problem overall with the notion of re-gifting an article by passing it on to someone else as a present. And nearly half (45%) said they actually would not mind it if they were on the receiving end of a re-gifted item.

In fact, more than a third of Canadians (36%) suspect they have already received a re-gifted present at least once in the past from a friend or family member.

So what are some of the top items for everyone to look out for as potentially re-gifted presents this year? Here is a short breakdown of items that Canadians surveyed admit to having re-gifted to others in the past:

• 23% of Canadians admit to having re-gifted home décor or knick knacks;
• 15% admit to re-gifting clothing;
• 6% of Canadians admitted to re-gifting bottles of wine;
• 5% have re-gifted bath products or candles;

This holiday season, in the true spirit of giving – and re-giving! - Canada Post is inviting Canadians to participate in an entertaining interactive online contest by answering the question "What kind of re-gifter are you?"

After completing a survey designed to classify participants as either a re-gift "Guru," a re-gift "Jokester, a re-gift "Revenger" or an "Anti-re-gifter," contest participants become eligible to win a horrendous-looking holiday sweater that is sure to top anyone's "re-gifter list" this year.

Contest entrants can also re-gift their chance to win the sweater by sending it to a friend, thus making themselves eligible to win a fabulous $5,000 vacation. Visit www.canadapost.ca/regifter to take the quiz and enter the contest.

The telephone survey was conducted by Harris/Decima with a representative sample of the Canadian population. This sample represents a total of 1,218 interviews, gathered October 9 through October 12 2008. The survey's margin of error is 2.8%, 19 times out of 20.

Re-gifting Facts

You give a gift. You receive a gift. Easy, right? Not so fast. There is a little something in-between. Some call it the ultimate in recycling. Others, the ultimate in bad taste. A telephone survey, conducted by Harris/Decima, with a sample of the Canadian population (1218 participants, weighted to reflect the known Canadian population statistics, margin of error (+/-2.8% for a random sample of 1218)) between October 9 and 12, 2008 looked at the dubious practice of re-gifting...

• slightly more than half of Canadians (53%) say they've never re-gifted and don't plan to re-gift - in Quebec, that number jumps to 69%
• less than one-third of Canadians (32%) admit to ever having re-gifted
• 23% of Canadians admitted to re-gifting home décor or knick knacks
• 15% admitted to re-gifting clothing
• 6% of Canadians admitted to re-gifting bottles of wine
• 5% admitted to re-gifting bath products or candles
• overall, 65% of Canadians don't have a problem with re-gifting with 36% of them feeling good about it - only 9% felt guilty!
• 8% were happy to have the item out of their house
• 8% thought re-gifting was the greener option
• 5% thought re-gifting would save time/money